


Earning Forgiveness

by Burgie



Series: Katja Joins Team Good AU [56]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 03:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8649559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Katja and Alex talk about the big problem and try to resolve it.





	

Katja had asked Alex to meet her here again, at Scarecrow Hill. It was where this had all began, after all. Yet Alex could see no sign of the white-clad General who had succeeded only in stealing her heart. She dismounted Tin Can and looked around, wondering where Katja was. She was sure that it was the right time, though Scarecrow Hill was fairly big. She hadn’t noticed how big it was the first time she’d been here. Of course, then she’d been more focused on the race…

At last, a shape detached itself from the trees.

“Who’s there?” Alex called, lighting Soul Strike in her hand (mostly for the light, but she had to be careful).

“It’s me,” said a familiar voice, and the figure pulled back her hood to reveal white hair.

“Why were you hiding?” asked Alex, noticing that Katja put her hood back up as soon as she approached.

“The witches report back to the other Generals,” said Katja, stepping back into the trees that grew on one side of Scarecrow Hill.

“Right, that makes sense,” said Alex. She followed Katja in under the trees, ignoring Tin Can’s worried whinnying.

“So, have you told anyone that I’m back?” asked Katja. Alex wanted to push back Katja’s hood, but she didn’t want them to be found.

“Not yet,” said Alex. “Louisa knows, but only because she found that note.”

“Good, we should keep it that way for a while,” said Katja. “I suppose you’re wondering why I brought you here?”

“Yes,” said Alex. “Your message sounded urgent.” And then, her eyes finally adjusted to the gloom enough for her to discover something. “You changed your clothes.”

“I do have Dark Rider robes but I wanted to wear a cloak,” said Katja, giving her a smile. “And… well, it’s complicated.”

“Normal clothes are less conspicuous anyway,” said Alex. She looked at Katja, admiring the way the clothes fit her. “You look good.”

“Thank you,” said Katja. “You look good too. Even if you are dressed like a druid.”

“Well, I take my role seriously,” said Alex. “Ever since I banished you, I’ve wanted to find out more about this whole thing.”

“Really? Why?” asked Katja.

“Because I just… missed you. And I felt bad about what I’d done and wanted to find out the whole story. Because I couldn’t just believe that I’d fallen in love with a monster. Even if that’s what everyone kept telling me,” said Alex.

“Oh,” said Katja. “I didn’t know you felt so strongly about me.”

“Well, after I banished you, I cried all night,” said Alex. “I thought it was just the stress of everything catching up with me, but honestly, I just missed you. And at first, I just wanted to know if I could get you back.”

“Please tell me you didn’t tell the druids that,” said Katja.

“Of course I didn’t, I’m not stupid,” said Alex. “But even though they’re wrong about how we feel about each other, they are right about a few things. You did hurt me. And you did some terrible things.”

“I know, and I feel awful about it,” said Katja. “I’m so sorry for hurting you and your family and threatening to kill your horse.”

“Why did you do it?” asked Alex. “If you love me so much, why did you hurt me so much?”

“Because I was taught that we’re not meant to be together,” said Katja. “And I’ve been taught this for centuries. You only have to go against a few years of belief, but breaking centuries of belief is hard. My heart was telling me to just damn the consequences and run away with you, but my head just told me to kill you and make it quick.”

“I didn’t even think of that,” said Alex. “And here I am, acting like crying for a few days is a huge deal.”

“But it is,” said Katja. “You’ve only loved me once before, and I tried to run away and be with you then, but it didn’t work. It-“ She broke off, clenching her teeth.

“So you were scared,” said Alex. “Story of my romantic life. You were scared to be with me because of your master, and Anne was scared to be with me because of her parents.”

“You dated that stuck-up bitch?” asked Katja. 

“Yeah, for a while,” said Alex. “And then she disappeared.”

“Did you love her?” asked Katja.

“Yes. But not as much as I love you, Katja. And you were a much better girlfriend than she was, even with you being evil and picking on my brother and threatening to kill my horse,” said Alex.

“Anne loves herself above anyone else,” said Katja. “Anyone could see that.”

“She loved me,” said Alex. “At least, I think she did. She just didn’t show it very well.”

“If you’re trying to make me jealous, it’s working,” said Katja. “But what you’re really doing is avoiding the problem.”

“You still remember that, huh,” said Alex, grinning down at her feet.

“All I thought of was you when I was trapped in there,” said Katja. “I missed you so much.”

Alex caressed Katja’s cheek and then kissed her, somehow resisting the natural instinct to sweep back her hood and tangle her fingers in the white hair.

“Much as I want to kiss you until we’re both breathless, you’re still avoiding the problem,” said Katja, breaking the kiss.

“Can’t we catch up first?” asked Alex.

“No,” said Katja. “We’re not kids anymore, Alex. We have to be responsible. If I want to be with you, I have to make up for a lot of bad things. Your mother and brother probably hate me, the druids definitely do, and I don’t know about your friends.”

“Yeah, they’re not exactly huge fans of you either,” said Alex. “They thought I was crying mostly because you broke my heart so many times. And you did, but the love was still there. Every time.”

“I wasn’t a very good girlfriend if I made you cry so much,” said Katja. “I bet Anne did.”

“While we were dating, I was never unhappy,” said Alex. “Even when bad stuff did happen, I had you to turn to. But then you left.” Now she finally felt that old sadness rise up. It burned. “Why did you leave me, Katja?”

“I had no choice,” said Katja.

“Yes you did,” said Alex. “You could’ve chosen to try running away to be with me again, but instead you chose the easy way. You defaulted to your nature.”

“I wasn’t born evil,” said Katja.

“No, but you became evil,” said Alex. “Is being evil easier than loving me? Being with me?”

“You have no idea how hard it is,” said Katja, and Alex could see the tears in her eyes. “I want this.”

“Then fight for it,” said Alex. “Or are you afraid to get your hands dirty?”

“One battle at a time,” said Katja. “I can’t take on Garnok alone. But if I have allies, then maybe I might stand a chance.” Alex could sense that there was a lot being unsaid, but she decided not to push it.

“You have a lot of apologising to do if you want to get people on your side,” said Alex.

“Are you on my side?” asked Katja. “Because if you aren’t, then I have nothing to fight for.”

“Yes,” said Alex. “I’ll help you. Even if that means I have to answer a lot of questions. Even if it endangers my position among the Keepers.”

“They won’t want a rogue Soul Rider. Especially the Warrior,” said Katja. “They’ve had rogues before. There was a famous one, actually. You might have heard of her?”

“Yes,” said Alex. “The Aideen that went wrong. Elise.”

“She was banished to Pandoria,” said Katja. “The druids might do that to you for siding with me. Are you sure you want to risk that?”

“You’re risking your life, I might as well risk mine too,” said Alex. The grin that appeared on Katja’s face prompted a grin on Alex’s as well.

“I could make it easier,” said Katja. “The druids got rid of Elise because she wanted to join the dark side. But what if a bad guy wanted to join the good side?”

“That’s never happened before,” said Alex.

“Well, none of us have ever had someone worth fighting for before,” said Katja.

“Okay, but first you have to leave Dark Core,” said Alex. “Do you know how to do that?”

“I have a trip to make while I’m here,” said Katja. “I was actually planning on it.”

“And what if I said no?” asked Alex.

“I decided to be optimistic,” said Katja. “After all, you already turned up to see me once.”

Alex kissed Katja again, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. Because she was her girlfriend again now. She’d proven her dedication to Alex, and Alex knew that she was telling the truth about crossing to the good side just for her. When the kiss ended, leaving them both flushed, Alex gave her girlfriend one more peck on the lips.

“Go make that trip,” said Alex. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“I love you,” said Katja.

“I love you too,” said Alex, feeling the truth in those words. “I’ve loved you for so long. And I forgive you for everything.”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” said Katja, feeling her heart flutter in her chest. Hopefully those words would be enough to get her through the next few hours. Or however long the spell took to perform. But Alex loved her, so everything would be worth it. All the pain and suffering and inevitable accusations of betrayal and spying. She would go through it all. For Alex. For her love. For her freedom.


End file.
